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E. SPENCER.

VERIFYING TALLY SHEET.

No. 338,427. Patented Dec. 29,1885.

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Nirnn STATES EDI/VARD SPENCER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

VERIFYING TALLY-SHEET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,427, dated December 29,1885.

Application filed October 13, 1884.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that .I, EDWARD SPENCER, of St. Louis, Missouri, have made a new and useful Improvement inVerifying Tally-Sheets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In counting the votes cast for different candidates at elections the practice has hitherto been to keep the tally on sheets, which afforded little or no assistance in obtaining and securing a correct result of the count.

The present improvement has the following advantages: It enables the clerks to keep the tally more readily and accurately, it presents the tally in such form as to enable a more "speedy comparison to be made between the tally-sheets kept by different clerks, and it leaves the count of the votes in better shape to be filed away as records of the election.

It consists in a printed form whose principal feature is a series of spaces adapted for receiving a series of tallies, the spaces being distinctly separated from each other and suc cessively bearing numbers, which, beginning with a number agreed upon as a tally, regularly increase in size by an amount equal to the number tallied on.

The improvement is illustrated in the drawing hereto annexed and made a part of this specification, and exhibiting a face view of the improved tally-sheet.

The same letters of reference denote the same parts.

The spaces A, which should be of uniform size and shape, and which are preferably square, substantially as shown, are adapted to receive a certain number, preferably five, of tally-marks; also, upon or in the immediate vicinity of the spaces appear figures B, which,

0 respectively, are multiples of the number of tally-marks which each space is to receivethat is, the first space at the upper left-hand corner of the series of spaces bears the number 5, the next space 10, and so on. Two hundred spaces are shown in the drawing; but any desirable number may be used. Two series, G C, of spaces are shown in the present form. The form, however, may have one or more series, as desired. At the top of the form should appear a proper legend, D, indicating the venue, time, and character of the election. Spaces E should also be set apart Serial No.145,389. (No model.)

for the names of the candidates. These portions of the form may be varied. For instance, the words City of St. Louis, 850., For Grovernor, &c., may be varied to suit the character of the election.

In operation the procedure is as follows: It may be assumed that the candidates at an election are James Brown and John Smith, whose names respectively appear in the lines above the two series of spaces in the form, as shown. The votes having been cast and the counting thereof about to commence, the clerks are supplied with duplicate tally-sheets. As the votes for the candidates are called the clerks proceed to make marks in the spaces appropriated to each candidate, respectively. When the fifth vote for a candidate is called and the tall y-mark is written in the first space, the clerks call tally, and pass on to the next space, and so on, until all the votes are called and registered. It may further be assumed that James Brown has received two hundred votes and John Smith two hundred and three votes. The tally-marks in the two series of spaces show the count so registered. In the upper series, 0, the whole number being a multiple of five, the printed figures in the last space filled give the count. In the lower series, 0, the three marks which appear in the space A added to the number indicated by the printed figures-in the last space filled give the count. By keeping the tally in this manner an erroris not easily made, the count so registered is easily understood and not easily falsified, and the sheets, completed and signed by officers of the election, are conveniently filed away as permanent records of the election.

I do not, as stated, desire to be limited to a certain number of spaces in a series; nor do I wish to be confined to the number five as a number to be tallied on, and hence do not wish to be restricted to the particular numbers shown, nor to the use of the form for election purposes only.

I claim 1. A tally-sheet having a series of spaces adapted for receiving a series of tallies, the spaces bearing figures B, which are respectively multiples of the number of tally-marks which each space is to receive, substantially as described.

2. A tally-sheet having the series of spaces A and a space for receiving the legend D, said which are respectively multiples of the numspaces bearing the figures B,which are respecther of tally marks which each space is to IO ively multiples of the number of tally-marks receive, substantially as described.

which each space is to receive, substantially Witness my hand.

' as described. EDWARD SPENCER.

3. A tally-sheet having the series of spaces A, XVitn esses: the space E, and a space for receiving the le- G. D. MOODY,

gend D, said spaces A bearing the figures B, A. K. FASSETT. 

